Tipton's Croft

A wild field garden in Bomere Heath, Shropshire, England

Category: The Pond

  • Morning mist

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  • Moorhen update

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    Three juvenile moorhens have survived (so far) and are now settled in with the two parents on the island. They are all quite shy and skittery so we never see them that close up, but they seem quite happy where they are, safe on the island and with lots to eat.

    Here’s where they live.

  • Summertime on the water

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    At last the weather is dry and the pond level is slowly dropping: something that would normally happen in February or March and by now the pond would be at least a foot shallower.

  • No hook needed

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    The croft isn’t just for wildlife. It’s a working field that produces hay, wood, fruit, honey, and fish to eat. We have brown and rainbow trout which we raise in the larger of the two ponds. Yes, the rainbow aren’t native, but they can’t breed, and yes, the trout do feed off the small wildlife but we keep the stock levels low and the pond is large enough to allow a good balance to develop.

    The rainbow trout are also a little mad and behave like a cross between dolphins and piranhas, and it doesn’t take much to be able to catch one.

  • The moorhens are getting bigger

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    We’re not sure how many moorhen chicks there are, but there are at least three. They’re getting bigger, less like sootballs as they start to develop proper feathers.

  • Sootballs

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    A pair of moorhens have secretly made a nest and we now have seven (or eight) little ‘sootballs’ on the pond.

    The male is on the bank on the left and the female in the reeds on the right.

    Definitely eight!

    Covered in black fluff and quite vulnerable to predators

  • All quiet

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    Spring is late, the pond is still full and not much is growing yet.

    The water is nice and clear thanks to all the rain

  • 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6… 7!

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    There are still seven little black moorhen chicks on the pond, learning to swim and feed themselves, while being closely guarded by the two adults.

  • Growing up fast

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    The greylag gosling is now two weeks old and growing fast. The adult male has disappeared, leaving the female to bring up the gooselet (no, this isn’t a real word) on her own, but she seems to be doing a good job.

    Update 12 June. Three weeks old and doing well!

    Update 16 June. Unfortunately it looks as though we’ve lost the greylag gosling. We last saw it a week ago and briefly saw the mother fly off a couple of days ago (she never leaves the gosling on its own). Such is nature, though whether it was a predator like a fox we’ll never know.

  • Is it really May?

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    6 May 2023

    Update 7 May 2023. That’s better!

  • Happy New Year

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    The water in the pond is now crystal clear thanks to the rain and cold weather (and no more digging pond extensions). The roach, perch and sticklebacks aren’t so keen though and they’re keeping to the deep water to avoid the herons who stalk around the margins.

  • New red and yellow resident

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    The young moorhen that has been visiting is growing up and has developed the distinctive red and yellow beak, and now may be settling in its new home in a clump of bulrush.